I have to admit from the outset that although the idea of protected values in itself makes sense to me, I'm at somewhat of a loss as to my own protected values within the context of an academic or business setting. Having said that, I did run with the mind mapping exercise and put down some values to include free markets, consumer choice, and allowing businesses and organizations to operate how they will within a legal framework.
As Dan Gilbert alluded to in the first video we viewed for the class, humans can do some irrational things based simply on their perception or the context of losses or gains involved in pursuing certain courses of actions, or in dealing with areas of "sunk cost." We may recall from the examples Gilbert used, people may drive a little further to save some money, or they may have different considerations on whether a night is ruined depending on whether they lost a ticket or lost $20.
I can say that although I might not radically change my courses of action based on my protected views, I certainly can have irrational gripes and occasionally irrational actions based upon how I reconcile my values and the situation at hand. For instance, I put down a belief in democratic government, reinforced by beliefs in people having a choice, having a central authority, and having substantive debate. I do participate in the voting process and support the government, although as a private citizen, I do get frustrated at times by government processes. All the same though, I still play by the rules, I continue to support the system, and I haven't stopped participating or done anything to make radical change. As inefficient as government decision making can be, it still works for me in its own sense, and I undertake what is arguably the irrational option of accepting the system as it is. I also can have misgivings about what does and does not get regulated, but again, rather than do anything for major change, I work with things as they are because of the same arguably irrational choice to take it as it is. The view is in an odd sense, protected in that way, with my belief in the system continuing to reinforce my support towards it. I would assess this belief as highly protected.
I also had a view toward free market capitalism that revolved around competition, freedom in business practices, and consumer choice. Again, I will support this system by being an active participant in it, continuing to eat out once in awhile, by myself a game or gadget, or getting reasonably nice clothes. I also support having choices in what I buy and where. In the midst of all this, I recognize that having a dozen different places with different selections and pricing on some merchandise can create additional stress, and my buying practices can be all over the map. I'm conscious of the imperfections in how companies can sometimes do business and how we do have some issues with high consumerism, but I still consider the system to be workable. I want to be able to choose to buy boots and knives made in my hometown or a car assembled in Europe, but I also want the choice to be able to say I don't particularly care where my trashcan or paper tray was assembled, I just want one that works and doesn't cost a lot. Thinking back, this was part of what influenced my decision making on leaving the dorm system after I transferred colleges...although I indulge occasionally in fancier food stuffs, I didn't want the university to tell me to buy a university meal plan just for the fact I live on campus, which in turn meant I'd either lose money or I would have to spend more for their contracted fair trade, organic, locally sourced food compared to a similar amount of "conventional food" at the local grocery or off campus restaurant. I didn't like having my value of consumer choice infringed upon (among other things), so I made the choice to turn to the free market on housing and make my own arrangements.
Finally, I had an area on my map where I said one shouldn't live to work, that is, work shouldn't be the one and only focal point of a person's life. Indeed, a lot of life can happen outside the office, time flies, and money can only contribute so much to a person's happiness. In holding to this value, while I do what's expected of me at the office and make sure people are taken care of, I'm not of the same mind as some other peers as to use my free time to get multiple additional certifications above and beyond what's required for my duties (which is to say, none at the moment besides basic technical training). I also do make it a point to make time for events and functions outside of work. Having said that, there are still points where the value gets sacrificed, and it happens with some regularity. There are days where I need to wake up early, so I have to turn down some invitations or I need to get to bed earlier. There's also an unspoken rule that one needs to obtain an advanced degree, so that leads me to taking my courses that consume a fair amount of the remaining three to four hours of my day. This value, in short, is one that's valued and is certainly the ideal, but in the execution of real life it is often sacrificed out of necessity. At the same time, it is this philosophy that may say even though it may save money to not take a weekend trip to Monterey or fly back home to Oregon, there are gains to be made in well being by getting away from the grind. One could say its a value that's protected when able.
To conclude, we all have things we believe in, and there's a lot of times where we stand by them whether we have to press on through the imperfections of those beliefs or we can't live them as often as we'd like. The key point though, is knowing those beliefs are there and that they can exert influence upon our decision making processes.
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